World Class Education in Chitwan
UNIT – 3
(Essays)
1. Sharing Tradition
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Rita Upadhyay
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Frank La Pena (1937-2019) was born in San Francisco,
California. He attended federal Indian Boarding
School in Stewart, Nevada. He received his Bachelor of
Arts degree from Chico State in 1965 and a Master of
Arts in Anthropology at Sac State in 1978. He lectured
widely on American Indian traditional and cultural
issues, emphasizing California traditions.
He was a professor of art and former director of Native American Studies at
California State University, Sacramento. His paintings, sculpture, and poetry
reflect a deep understanding and love of his native heritage. He was a founding
member of the Maidu Dancers and Traditionalists, dedicated to the revival and
preservation of Native arts.
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He also published several volumes of poetry and wrote a report on contemporary
California art activities for News from Native California. He was quite interested
in the arts and traditions of Native Americans. He coedited Legends of Yosemite
Miwok (1992) with Craig D. Bates and wrote Dream Songs and Ceremony:
Reflections on Traditional California Indian Dance (2004).
The essay 'Sharing Tradition' is about passing on culture and values from
generation to generation through oral tradition. For this, we must listen to our
elders’ stories.
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Summary
In this essay, Frank La Pena talks about the case of oral tradition. He keeps on
telling all his readers about his experiences and thoughts related to oral
tradition. The oral tradition refers to a form of art of human communication
where knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved and
transmitted orally from generation to generation. This transmission is made
through speech or song or folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses, etc. Oral
tradition helps to maintain the values of the culture. The task of sharing tradition
isn't minor. The task of sharing tradition through oral means seems easy to talk
and write but quite hard to practice. Here, both the elders and young people play
a vital role to maintain and preserve the values of the culture.
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Role of elders and young people to preserve tradition
The elders and young (speaker and listener)people play a very vital role to
maintain and preserve the values of the culture. According to the writer, the
knowledge of elders related to cultures, traditions, religions, and values must be
listened to and followed properly by young people. The elders share the traditions
and various concepts related to culture and values with the young people. Once
elderly people die, young people have to fill up their places being responsible.
They (young people) have to take responsibility for sharing tradition after elders
through oral tradition to maintain cultures and values in their community. This
way, the oral tradition keeps on moving generation to generation and cultures
and values are preserved. Young people can make elders alive maintaining their
concepts of tradition and knowledge of life in the community.
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